Agrobacterium – plants can also get sick 10th May 2024 – Tags: Agrobacterium, bacteria, biology, Biotechnology, genetics, plants
The world of biotechnology is developing not only thanks to animal organisms. Well, he also uses various types of plants. One example where this field of science is based on the study of plant structures is the use of bacteria from the genus Agrobacterium. These pathogens are unusual because they revolutionized the molecular genetics of plants and gave rise to a new industry dealing with the genetic modification of plants. What are the bacteria in question and how do they serve in biotechnological research?
Bacteria of the genus Agrobacterium
Agrobacterium is a pathogenic soil bacterium that infects plants through wounded tissues. After infection, tumors on the root collar or excessive root growth occur. From a microbiological point of view, they are gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria.
How does Agrobacterium infect plants?
The process of infection and transformation using Agrobacterium in vitro can be divided into the following stages:
1. Agrobacterium comes into close contact with a plant cell
a. Recognition of damaged plant tissue through one of the virulence genes placed on the bacterial plasmid
b. The bacterium moves to the vicinity of the damaged cell, and the virulence genes located on the bacterial chromosome start producing adhesive substances
c. T-DNA is excised from the plasmid
2. Transfer of T-DNA to a plant cell and expression of encoded oncogenes
a. T-DNA is transferred to the plant cell in the form of a DNA-protein complex
b. The complex enters the nucleus
c. Single-stranded T-DNA is attached to one of the plant DNA strands
3. Appearance of morphological changes indicating the development of cancer.
a. After integrating with plant DNA, T-DNA begins the production of enzymes of the auxin and cytokinin synthesis pathway, which initiates tumor growth as well as the synthesis and secretion of opines
Agrobacterium in biotechnology
The discussed type of bacteria is currently used to produce transgenic plants. Transgenic plants are those whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. The purpose of such a process is to introduce a new feature into the plant that does not occur naturally in a given species. The result of a given modification is also to obtain the most useful and productive plant. Plant transformation includes not only the delivery and integration of modified DNA into plant cells, but also the regeneration of transgenic plants.
Agrobacterium and pharmacy
In addition to improving the condition of crops, transformation with Agrobacterium is also used to produce valuable proteins in plants that have pharmaceutical effects. This process is called biofarming or molecular farming and involves the introduction of genes encoding therapeutic proteins into host plants. These proteins can then be expressed in plant tissues, harvested and purified for use in a variety of medical applications. Examples of pharmaceutical proteins produced using Agrobacterium include antibodies, vaccines, enzymes, and growth factors.
Sources:
- BYJU’S
- Thompson MG, Moore WM, Hummel NFC, Pearson AN, Barnum CR, Scheller HV, Shih PM. Agrobacterium tumefaciens: A Bacterium Primed for Synthetic Biology. Biodes Res. 2020 May 26;2020:8189219. doi: 10.34133/2020/8189219. PMID: 37849895; PMCID: PMC10530663.
- Nester, E. W. (2015). Agrobacterium: nature’s genetic engineer. Frontiers in Plant Science, 5
- Transformacja roślin za pomocq wektorów Agrobacterium tumefaciens” – Teresa Orlikowska Instytut Sadownictwa i Kwiaciarstwa Skierniewice
- Pitzschke, A. (2013). Agrobacterium infection and plant defense—transformation success hangs by a thread. Frontiers in Plant Science, 4
- Gentaur
- NIH
- Britannica